Leukemia

Letters from the Light

Dear Cancer, It’s been sixteen years. And somehow, you’re still here—still a hater. You keep taking from me, Stealing pieces of who I used to be.

Dear Leukemia

Dear Cancer, If I could ask you one question, it would be a single word: why? Why did you storm into my life four years ago? Do you even know the darkness you brought? The way you made my heart tremble, my body ache, my mind scream for peace.

Cancer, You’ve Changed Me

I know last time I wrote a letter I said I would always call you by your full name but for brevity’s sake, I will call you that (or your even cooler nickname, LGLL).

Cancer Molded Me

I don’t like talking about what I have lost from cancer because it is an enormous reminder that some abnormal cells in my body that I created, which are so tiny, have had such a humongous impact on my life forever.

The Uneven Scales of Cancer Survivorship

Cancer leaves an imprint on every survivor, reshaping lives in ways both visible and hidden. When I reflect on my own journey, the losses stand out immediately. The most tangible is my career in special education.

Cancer and Cookies

My advice as an elevator pitch:

Cancer fucking sucks, but you don’t!!!! This cancer journey is about you. Keep that in mind. Balance will be the key. Knowledge is power; take notes, ask questions, and be curious. You don’t have to do this alone.

Turning Loss to Lemonade

Turning thirty is a big deal. It’s one of the milestones we celebrate. “The end of a chapter, and the start of a new one,” is what people love to say. It’s Real Adulthood, the period of wedding planning, pumping and dumping, and racing to pick up at daycare. It coincides with how a woman’s biological clock ticks louder as she gets closer to her thirties.

Cancer’s Crash Course in Relationships…

Cancer is a disease caused by the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. It has uncontrollably killed my relationships and then has divided my surviving relationships into abnormal categories. These categories are: cancer is slowly killing us, cancer made us stronger, and cancer left us somewhere in the middle. Cancer has impacted my friendships, and I haven’t found a treatment that works yet.

The Phrases That Define Us

“Call it by its full name—just saying ‘cancer’ gives it power over you.”

That was the advice given to me by my first managing oncologist (he helped manage my treatment, while a local guy monitored and took care of things if I was in the hospital) near the time I was diagnosed.

How It Feels to Be an AYA

Being an AYA is a unique experience—especially when you have a rare cancer like me. AYA cancer is rare, and then I have a rare cancer on top of that. How do I hate thee cancer? Let me count the ways.

Wait, I can’t quote/butcher Shakespeare like that. I don’t want my high school English teacher to come hunt me down (Mr. S was a big guy!), so let me use something not cribbed from the most quoted author in the English language.